AirDrop like file transfer to soon come on Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo phones

Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo – three of the big tech giants from China are collaborating with each other to bring a new wireless file transfer protocol similar to AirDrop, which will work across their devices. According to a WeChat post from Xiaomi’s official MIUI account, Xiaomi’s MIUI, Oppo’s ColorOS, and Vivo’s FuntouchOS — all based on Android — will integrate that peer-to-peer system.

The new file transfer protocol will utilize Bluetooth maintain a connection between a pair of devices and would be capable of transfer speeds of up to 20MB/s, which clearly indicates that it the new protocol uses Wi-Fi on the backend, similar to Apple’s AirDrop feature. Xiaomi’s WeChat post further says that other smartphone manufacturers can apply to join the alliance and a beta version of the service would be released by the end of this month.

Earlier, Google also tried to launch AirDrop-style services in its Android operating system including 2011’s Android 4.0 that came with Android Beam that used Near Field Communication (NFC) for pairing two devices pairing, but has been removed from the upcoming Android Q. Google has launched a new app called ‘Files by Google’ that offers file transfer with Bluetooth pairing. The Android Q is expected to come with ‘Fast Share’ functionality.

With Google Fast Share, there is no need to tap phones to share files or other data, instead, you will be presented with a list of nearby devices (using Bluetooth and Location to be turned on). And once you connect to a receiving device and they accept the request, the data transfer happens over Wi-Fi.

With Google Fast Share, users can share images, URL and short snippets of text instantly. According to the media reports, Google Fast Share will not only work with Android phones but also smartwatches, Chrome OS devices, and even iPhones.